The Chosen Seed
by FrodoFever
Summary: Having defeated Circe, Gemma Doyle returns home in exhaustion. But her troubles aren't over yet from restoring the realms to keeping up with her family and friends. Will she be able to fulfill what she is required to do in time? R&R please!
1. Chapter 1

/I don't own anything you recognize in this story. /

Chapter One

"In what concerns you much, do not think that you have companions: know that you are alone in the world." –Henry David Thoreau

The carriage rocked gently as I stared out the window, not seeing anything. It had been hard the last couple of months, but especially towards the end of the school term. With all that I had gone through that last night, it was a wonder that I didn't just pass out from nerves and exhaustion.

The carriage slowed before coming to a stop. We must have reached home. The door of the carriage swung open and the footman looked inside at me. I just glared wearily back at him.

"We are here, Miss Doyle," he said, "its best not to keep your grandmother waiting."

"No, we wouldn't want her to lose her hat over me," I muttered under my breath, but I complied. I was in no fit state to endure one of Grandmother's crusades to shape me into a respectable young woman of society.

Taking the footman's hand, I got out of the carriage and stood back as the footman went through the motions. As I looked around, waiting for the footman to finish, I noticed that no one had come down to greet me.

"Sir," I exclaimed, turning back to the footman. "Isn't there supposed to be someone who was supposed to greet me?"

The footman grimaced. "I'm sorry to inform you, miss, that Mr. and young Master Doyle are out on business. They won't be down to greet you, Miss Doyle, I am sorry."

"And what of my grandmother, sir?" I asked, feeling my patience beginning to waver. "Surely she's available to greet me."

"Surely, miss, but she's had a slight cold of late and doesn't have the disposition to come out and greet you properly," the footman said nervously. "I am sorry, but you will have to go up to the house on your own, begging your pardon."

I rolled my eyes in disgust and disbelief. It figures that everybody would make themselves scarce when the scandalous Gemma Doyle arrived home. Not that I would have minded, anyway, but it was a bit odd that my family would ignore proper protocol that society dictates. Especially my grandmother, who insisted on following every societal rule lest she or her family become outcasts.

I smiled sweetly at the footman, knowing that if I didn't make it up to him; he would surely tell my grandmother of my poor manners.

"Of course, how silly of me to expect that my only and dear grandmother to come out on this cold night and risk worsening her cold," I said, smiling. "It will be of no consequence to me to go up to the house by myself just once."

The footman smiled in relief, grateful that I wasn't going to cause a scene. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. How I hated the protocol of the wealthy society.

Gathering my resolve, I told the footman to deliver my luggage up to the house before picking up my skirts and heading to the house. I had a feeling that my grandmother was waiting rather impatiently for me whether she was sick or not. It would do no good to keep her waiting.

Entering the front door, I closed it behind me before checking myself in the mirror. I looked every bit as I felt. Well, there was no time to make myself presentable. I hurried into the parlor.

"Good grief, child, look at the sight of you!" Grandmother exclaimed from her chair by the fireplace. "You look like you've been traveling for days rather than mere hours."

I sighed inwardly. She, of all people should know how much traveling took a toll on the body no matter how long he or she had been traveling. But what wears me out is something that I can never tell as long as I live. Or at least until certain issues were cleared up.

"I'm sorry, Grandmother, I have just arrived. I haven't had much time for anything else," I exclaimed, giving her something to chew on.

Grandmother looks at me with a critical eye. I force myself not to cringe. It would have given her more ammunition to remind me of why I was such a pestering nuisance.

"Where have Father and Tom gone to?" I asked, unable to keep my curiosity in check. "It seems rather odd that they would be out so late."

Grandmother sighed heavily. "Your father has taken ill this evening, Gemma, and your brother has taken him up to his work to get him some medical attention."

I stare at my grandmother in shock. "Not the asylum? But Father hasn't, I mean, he hasn't gone…?"

"As far as you're concerned, Gemma, no he hasn't. The asylum was the closest thing Tom could get him to for treatment at such a time of night," Grandmother exclaimed, her eyes flashing. I knew that meant she was close to losing her temper and I had to tread carefully now.

"Forgive me, Grandmother," I finally said, "it has been a long night."

Suddenly Grandmother's eyes grew softer. It was the closest thing to showing any emotion and tenderness towards me in a long time. Perhaps never, I'm never quite sure.

"Of course it has, dear," Grandmother exclaimed. "I've kept you up longer than I should have. Please, go upstairs and take your rest. I'll have the rest of your luggage sent up to you in the morning."

I nodded and said good night to my grandmother before heading upstairs. As I headed into my room and got ready for the night, I couldn't help but think about that had transpired. It was odd that Tom would take our father to the asylum, a nobleman at that. Could his defenses no longer hold him up and the creatures and spirits of the Winterlands were finally able to grasp a hold onto him? If that's what had happened, it was my entire fault.

I finally collapsed into bed, exhausted. There was so much expected of me, yet I couldn't do it all at once. Slowly, I drifted off into sleep. Whatever I had to do would have to wait until the morning. Rest was first priority.


	2. Chapter 2

/I don't own anything you recognize in this story. /

Chapter Two

"That shepherd who first taught the chosen seed, in the beginning how the heavens and earth rose out of chaos." –John Milton, _Paradise Lost_

Rest would prove to wear thin at that. Tossing and turning, I would manage to fall asleep only to wake up from the nightmares that had plagued me since the true Circe had been discovered.

Finally waking up in a cold drench of sweat at six in the morning, I decided to get up and get ready for the day. I would get no more sleep this night.

Finding that my grandmother had delivered my luggage to my room while I was still asleep, I couldn't help but smile. Despite her disgust for my lack of being a lady, she couldn't resist following the manners that she was known for.

Finding some clothes, I hastily put them on. Tying part of my hair into a small bun and allowing the rest of it to cascade down my shoulders; I looked at myself in the mirror. I was still plain looking to my own standards. I sighed. Some things would always be the same.

Twirling a piece of hair through my fingers, I thought of Kartik and wondered what he was doing right now. Probably hiding as some rich man's stable boy while he plotted on what to do next in the scheme of protecting me from the formidable Order. I smiled at the thought, but it was a bittersweet one. He had risked everything for me—his life's dream. And now all his sacrifices would be for naught. He was at the bottom end of society now, a young man with no name. And it was all because of me.

I shook my head, forcing such thoughts from my head. Kartik would be somebody if I could help it. His fate will be more profitable if I could do it. Anything was possible.

Turning away from the mirror, I sighed heavily. Whatever grand plans I had now would have to wait. For now, I had to face the formidable Mrs. Doyle, my grandmother. That was an adventure unto itself.

Reaching the grand staircase that I had walked up just mere hours before, I placed my fingers gently onto the banister before walking down the stairs, allowing my fingers to trail behind me. It was something I had always enjoyed doing, it made me feel more grown up, despite my reluctance to do so.

Reaching the bottom step, I gasp in surprise when I looked up and saw my brother standing before me. I took a step back, glaring at him. Tom always had a way of sneaking up on people.

"I see that you are here and the same as usual," Tom said curtly. "Are you practicing to be the future mistress of a household to greet the guests as they come in?"

"I will never be the mistress of a household, Thomas Doyle," I exclaimed. "And to be honest, I will be surprised if any man will look upon me as someone to lust after in their darkest of desires."

Tom said nothing, but I could tell that he didn't appreciate my smart remark. After all, he was a man of importance now, someone who only cared about getting ahead and leaving behind the people he once loved. But I didn't care at the moment, I had given my usual standard and I was satisfied.

"So how is Father?" I asked, changing the subject, "when did you get back?"

Tom sighed tiredly and I noticed the dark circles underneath his eyes. He obviously didn't sleep all night. I suddenly felt guilty for keeping him from his bed, but I needed answers. How else was I to help the father that I had loved so dearly?

"I just got back not an hour ago," Tom answered. "I'm afraid our Father's condition is getting worse. He no longer recognizes the people he knows and he holds onto the bottle as if a life line. It will be a long while before he will be completely rehabilitated and able to come back home."

"You mean you left him in the asylum?" I gasped. "But that is absurd. That is probably the worst humiliation he and our family can endure, Tom. It will break down his honor as well as ours. What will society think that one of their noblemen is locked up because he has turned crazy with grief?"

Tom held up a hand, silencing my flow of words. I glared up at him, hating him for locking up our father in the worst place imaginable. Now how was I to save him if he was so far away?

"The doctors and nurses have been sworn to secrecy about his whereabouts," Tom exclaimed. "If anybody's to ask, we are to say that Father has left to recover his illness up in the mountains. You mustn't speak of his true location, Gemma, I have gone through some huge expenses to make this work and keep the truth of our Father secret."

"It still doesn't make it any easier," I said bitterly.

"Nothing in life is easy, Gemma," Tom stated. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm about to fall asleep on my feet. I'll see you lunch, little sister."

I watched as Tom headed up the stairs and disappeared into his room. I turned away and headed into the breakfast room. How much more bad news could I endure? It seemed to never end.

"Ah, there you are, Gemma," Grandmother exclaimed as I walked in. "What has kept you?"

I sat down heavily at my usual place and chewed on a bit of egg before answering. My grandmother has waited this long, she could wait a little while longer.

Swallowing the food in my mouth, I cleared my throat. "I ran into Tom at the staircase. He told me about Father."

Grandmother gave a curt not. "And I expect you will uphold the family honor by not breathing a word to anybody. Not even to those two girls that you call your friends."

"And I expect I shall have to jump off the cliff, as well," I said sarcastically.

"That will be enough, Gemma," Grandmother said sharply. "I don't know how your mother raised you or what she put up while she was alive, but I can promise you now that I will not tolerate such snide remarks. Have I made myself clear?"

"Nothing could have been clearer," I said stiffly.

"Good." Grandmother picked up her knife and slicing her bagel neatly before spreading jam and butter on it and lifting it to her mouth to eat. I went back to my eggs, eating them silently while thinking my own thoughts. I wouldn't have much time until later to analyze what I have heard.

"What are your plans for today, Gemma?" Grandmother asked as she watched me eat.

I swallowed the food in my mouth and looked up at my grandmother. "I planned to go into town today. I thought I might find a new book to keep me occupied over holidays."

"You will also need to buy some new clothes for the summer fashion," Grandmother said.

I sighed inwardly. She always found a way to keep her control on me. I would have no escape to find my friends now, as it took a while for the dresser to measure the size and clothe of every person that walked through the doors.

"I have had the carriage readied for you, so you may leave as soon as you're through with your breakfast," Grandmother stated.

I nodded in agreement. Finishing my breakfast I received the money that I needed from my grandmother and left without another word. It was going to be another long day.

--

**Author's Note:** Thanks to those who have read and reviewed my story so far, I'm glad you liked it and I hope you keep reading. I don't know where this story's going to go, but I'll keep it as interesting as possible. Keep reading and reviewing and I'll update as fast as I can.

_Lena Bergal_—Thanks for the review! I'm glad that you think it's good and has a lot of potential. I'll certainly keep that in mind when I feel the lack of ideas to keep me going with the story. Thanks again!

—Thanks for the review! I'm glad you like it so far.


	3. Chapter 3

/I don't own anything you recognize in this story. /

Chapter Three

The carriage pulled to a stop in front of one of the most well known dressers in all of London. Sighing with the knowledge that there was no way to get out of it, I obediently got out of the carriage and hurried inside.

It appeared that today was one of their busy days, so I made myself comfortable in one of the chairs up front. Somehow I knew that it was going to be torture to come in today. Grandmother picked one of the worst days for me to come over here.

It didn't take long before I heard a familiar voice coming closer to where I was sitting. I looked up to see Felicity and Ann laughing over some little joke that they were sharing between them. Instantly I felt jealous of them. How could they get together so quickly and have so much fun together whether ever inviting me?

"But of course she wouldn't have anything else to do," Felicity gasped between laughs.

She stops in surprise when she sees me sitting up at the front. I could nearly laugh at the sight of her surprise and Ann nearly running into the back of her. It looks like they have seen a ghost.

"Hello, girls," I exclaimed, standing up to walk over to them.

Felicity recovered her shock and put on her usual smiles. "Why, Gemma, how splendid it is to see you again! When did you get here?"

"Oh, not very long, to be truthful," I reply, "my grandmother wishes me to order new clothes for the season."

"What a coincidence, that's exactly what we were in here for, as well," Ann exclaims, twirling a piece of hair around her finger. She seems so much happier, I note, less the careful and quiet girl I once knew.

"I see that you are not at Spence, Ann," I stated, "has your cousin pulled you out for you to be her children's governess?"

Ann gives me a curious look. "Didn't you know? I am to be married."

I look at Felicity in surprise. She merely shrugs and I turn back to Ann.

"This is surely some news," I reply, "who are engaged to?"

"But didn't you know? I'm to be married to your brother," Ann exclaimed. "Didn't he tell you?"

Right now I would have given anything to give Tom a quick kick in the shins for not telling me his news. But then again he _was_ tired and I didn't want to press him any further. News of my father had overshadowed everything else.

"No, he didn't," I answer. "We had some rather unexpected news that quite possibly drove everything else out of his mind. When did this happen?"

Ann was about to speak when one of the seamstresses came up to us. I sighed. Something to prolong my curiosity even further, it seemed.

"We're waiting for you now, Miss Doyle," the seamstress said.

I nodded before turning to my friends. I curtsied to them. "It's a pleasure seeing you again, Miss Worthington, Miss Bradshaw. Please do come see me sometime. I am free most afternoons."

Felicity gave a smile. "And perhaps we'll take a trip to a place that we all miss."

I frown and turn back to Felicity. "When it is most suitable, I'm sure."

Without another word, I followed the seamstress back to the back. I couldn't let my grandmother be disappointed this day.

As I expected, it took hours for the seamstress to figure out my size and what colors suited me best. Finally, I was allowed to go with the promise of my clothes in a few weeks. Stepping outside, I looked for the carriage that bore me here.

Finding the carriage, I walked confidently towards it and was about to go in when I felt a hand on my shoulder. Spinning around, I found myself looking into those beautiful dark eyes that have haunted me in my dreams. It was Kartik. _My_ Kartik.

"We meet again, I see, Miss Doyle," Kartik said, a warm smile on his face. "I see that you are well."

I gave a small smile in return. "As well as I can be, Mr. Kartik."

"I have missed you so, Gemma," he said in a low voice. "When can we meet again?"

I take his hand and gave it a squeeze. "You know where we live. I'll meet you in the stables the first chance I get. There are many things to discuss."

Kartik gave a curt nod. "I shall see you then, madam."

Without another word, he turns and disappears into the ever growing crowd. I climbed into my carriage, unable to stop a smile from spreading on my face. I had found Kartik again and in less than a few hours I was going to meet him again. This surely had to be what it felt like to be in love. True love, that is. I think of Simon Middleton and I shudder slightly. What would have happened if I had married him? Doomed to forever live in unhappiness, in a marriage where I could never make the man I married to happy.

As I reached home, I noticed Tom standing outside the front door, waiting for me apparently. I wonder what for.

Jumping out of the carriage, I walk towards him. "This is surely an improvement from last night."

Tom shook his head. "I am not in the mood for your antagonistic moods, Gemma. Father has asked for you and I am to take you to him."

"How is he?" I ask as I find myself hopping back into the carriage.

Tom climbed up into the carriage beside me. "In one of his lucid moments, I do believe. He's getting more and more of these, thank goodness. Hopefully the worst part is almost over."

I sigh. Tom always believes it is he that who helped cure father. He'll never know that it is I who gave our father the hope and courage to move past his addictions.

As the carriage lurched foreword I couldn't help but wonder what I was going to find in my father once we reached Bethlem Hospital. I hope that I will find him at peace but deep down I know he won't be completely better. Not for a long time.

--

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's reviewed and here's chapter three for everybody. I hope everybody likes it so far. I promise it will get more exciting after this, just give me a while to work on it.

My fourth anniversary on being on this site! Amazing how time flies when you're having fun, no? I might have a new story or something updated for the occasion but it might not be until later or in the morning. Meanwhile you get updates!

Once again, thanks to all who've reviewed and I'll update when I can. Don't forget to review, it makes the writer happy.


	4. Chapter 4

/I don't own anything you recognize in this story. /

Chapter Four

Reaching Bethlem Hospital, Tom jumped from the carriage before turning around and helping me down. Looking up at the hospital, I couldn't help but sigh. Such a dark place filled with desperate people. How I wished I could every single one of them, relieve them of their demons. But I had too little time and too little information. I couldn't save everybody.

Tom took my elbow gently, guiding me to the hospital doors. I took a deep breath, steadying myself. It would do no good for my father to see me in my nervous state.

"Are you quite all right, Gemma?" Tom asked me as we passed through the hospital doors.

I swallow and gave what I hoped was a convincing smile. "Quite all right, thank you, Tom."

"You seemed a bit nervous there a bit ago, I was hoping you weren't going to have a fainting spell," Tom continued on. "Such a place as Bethlem isn't for the faint of heart."

Inwardly I wanted to slap my brother across his face. He was such a prat sometimes. I swear no one else has to tolerate such an insufferable know-it-all.

"To be sure," I finally said, "but believe me one would need a stronger sense of self for the troubles endured at home."

Tom frowned at my sibling insults, but I couldn't help but smile at him. Occasionally he needed to be cut down to size. And who better than his own sister? Surely it was better hearing it from one's own flesh and blood rather than a complete stranger.

Winding through the corridors of the men's ward, I couldn't help but look into the windows of the passing doors as we walked passed. Some were pacing around their rooms, pulling their hair and scratching their faces. But most were sitting on the edge of their beds or on a chair, hugging themselves close and rocking back and forth. All of them had blank, slack faces, as if they had nothing more to hope for.

Shuddering at the sights, I forced myself to look straight ahead, not wanting to look into the despairing faces. Jumping slightly, I felt Tom tug gently on my arm.

"Are you sure you're quite alright, Gemma?" Tom asked, his face etched with concern.

"As right as I can be to know that my own dear, beloved father is locked in such a place of despair," I snapped, unable to take any more of Tom's pompous personality.

Tom frowned. "You could be a bit more cordial, Gemma. It wasn't my fault that I had to place him here. It was a necessity, for all of our sakes."

And there was the paradox of our lives. And what, dear brother, would you think if I told you my darkest secret of all? Would I, too, be condemned in your eyes?

Stopping at the end of the hall, Tom opened the door to our immediate right. Stepping just inside the room, I couldn't help but gasp in surprise. The room wasn't like any of the others. In fact, it seemed as if it could have been a part of our own home. Tom most certainly had to pull some strings for this to even come into existence.

Turning to Tom, I looked up into his handsome face. "How did you do all of this?"

A small hint of a smile on his face, Tom touched my shoulder briefly. "A lot of hard work in persuasion. Something you would probably never understand."

Perhaps not, but enough to know the compassion and hard work that Tom had to suffer through to get this far. A rush of love and compassion spread within me for my brother. Sometimes Tom became the brother I once knew.

"My darling Gemma," a hoarse voice said from across the room.

Turning toward the voice, my heart broke when I saw my father, as it had been for the past year or so. He was thin than he had once been, but I could see that he was starting to fill out once more. They were apparently working their miracles upon my father.

Tom cleared his throat. "I will be just outside if you need anything, Gemma."

I nodded my compliance and walked over to the bed, sitting down at the edge of it. Smiling as bravely as I could, I pushed back my father's long, ragged hair from his face. Apparently appearances mattered not in Bethlem, but it still hurt to see my father in this way.

"I see that you are well, Father," I said trying to make the conversation light.

Father smiled, but the smile never reached his eyes as it once did. "I have been better, dear child."

"I know you have, but you're better than you once were," I persisted.

Father chuckled. "You were always the optimistic one, Gemma. Just like your mother."

I smiled sadly. "I miss her so much, Father. Sometimes it's almost like I can feel her near me."

Suddenly, Father grabbed my wrist, clutching it hard. Gasping in surprise, I tried to pull away, but his grip was too tight. Pulling me close to him, he looked straight into my eyes. And in his own I could see something that I had never seen in his eyes before. It was fear.

"They are coming for you, Gemma," Father said, pulling me closer and becoming more manic. "Don't trust them, they will lie, and then, then they will find you."

Panicking, I cried out for Tom and seconds later, I found myself pulled free as Tom and two nurses wrestled my father back in bed. Horrified, I watched my father struggling against them desperately.

"Don't trust them, Gemma! For all our sakes!" Father cried out.

Satisfied that the nurses had it under control, Tom took me gently by the arm and led me slowly out the room and down the hall into the main room. And for once I couldn't protest, I was too much in a shock. What had my father become in the face of my enemies?

"Come, Gemma," Tom said gently, "let's get you home now."

"How long has he been like this?" I finally asked, coming to my senses.

"It had been a gradual process. He had only gotten this bad the past few weeks, but it had been going on since you went back to Spence after the holidays," Tom answered.

I nodded, unable to ask any more questions. I didn't want to know anymore. As we hurried back home in the carriage, I couldn't help but think one thing. My father and who knows how many other people were in trouble. And I didn't have much time to save the realms from total destruction.

--

**Author's Note:** Chapter Four for everybody. I'm sorry it has taken me so long to update this story, but I've been really busy and haven't had much time for fan fiction. I'm sure you all understand. I promise it'll get more interesting, but I had to set the stage.

Thank you to all who have updated so far, you don't know how much I appreciate the reviews, it keeps me going. I promise I'll update as soon as I can and don't forget to review, it makes the writer happy!


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